Boots advert should not have been made

The latest Boots 'Here Come The Girls' advert is sexist and could deter men from going to the doctors, according to visitors to the MHF websites.

In our latest snap survey, 77% of respondents said that the advert, below, should not have been made. It was decribed variously as 'typical misandrist crap', 'very sexist and stereotypical', 'breath-taking hypocrisy', 'lazy humour', 'disconected from reality' and part of 'an increasing trend in the negative portrayal of men.'

Mark said: 'The litmus test is to reverse the genders and then ask Boot and their advertising agency whether they would then produce and run the same ad.'

Paul said: 'Not enough men seek medical advice as it is. Now we are creating the implication that women have it really bad and men are 'lame ducks' if they fall ill.' John agreed. 'This ad will prevent men from seeking medical help in case they are protrayed as weak.'

Several respondents said they now boycotted Boots because of their advertising style.

No advertising standards investigation

The Advertising Standards Authority say they have received 96 complaints about the ad but will not be conducting an investigation.

Their spokesman said: 'I can confirm that the ASA has carefully assessed the complaints – that the ad is offensive because it is sexist towards men. We did not consider, however, that there were grounds for an investigation. While we understood the intended humour in the ad might be seen as somewhat distasteful to some, we did not consider it likely to cause serious or widespread offence or be seen as stigmatising or portraying an offensive stereotype of men. We have contacted the complainants to explain why we won’t be investigating on this occasion.'

Interesting the statistics show that women are more likely to go to a doctor and more likely to be off work sick - although there are many factors not least child care responsibilities affecting this not just 'flu - man or otherwise.

There were some fans of the ad - several found it funny and 'hardly something to get worked up about'. Cassandra asked: 'What do you mean by "offensive"? Sadly this ad will not appear offensive to most women and men as the way women look after their men and men do not look after themselves is endemic to our western societies due to our traditional organisation with men bringing the money home and women looking after the children and ... their husband! Men are able to take and handle heavy responsibilities in demanding jobs or racing high-speed cars but not with their health. Why not?'